Thanksgiving Art Work

This morning, Little K & her CiCi made this little Indian. They took a tangerine from CiCi's tree in her back yard. They carefully taped two yellow leaves to the back of the fruit. Then they pushed cloves into the front of the fruit to make the face. Ta da! Thanksgiving art work.

- Until the next nap time...

So it's the eve of Halloween & we're on the way to a Halloween party in Galveston. Little K lost her red hood, which was the key piece in her handmade-by-her-Grand "Little Red Riding Hood" costume. My husband just announced that he forgot his cowboy hat (he was dressing like a western bandit!) and Nestle recalled Raisinets & lollipops because they failed to mention that peanuts are in the candy. Really? As a mother of a child with a severe peanut allergy, that's a big miss! Nestle should have been more responsible.




All this said, the weather in Houston is gorgeous & I'm thankful for my family. We had a great time at the St. Rose School fall festival last night & I'm eager to learn how much money the school earned from the event. (In spite of the fun, it's still a fundraiser, you know.)

My fingers are crossed that my daughter will have no run-ins with peanuts this weekend. It's a high alert holiday when you have a peanut allergy. I hope Little K & all kids revel in the spirited fun of Halloween. I can't stop smiling when I see all the great costumes. Too fun!

- Until the next nap time...

Masquerade Ball at the Houston Symphony for Kids

This morning, Little K (aka Little Red Riding Hood) and I went to the 10 am Houston Symphony performance - Weatherford Family Concert. The theme was "Masquerade Ball" so kids were encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes. It really helped the guests get into the Halloween spirit.

The music was fantastic and the conductor was great about explaining what the music was describing in advance of playing a piece -- super for young audiences. I liked the chance to snuggle in our seats with my daughter and relax for almost an hour. We heard music from Ghostbusters, Night on Bald Mountain and Danse Macabre. Fantastic! Plus, the symphony put projections of jack o'lanterns, witches and ghosts on the walls to tie into the music. Even Little K was excited to tell her daddy about the music.

On our way out, we found Radio Disney playing games and music outside Jones Hall. It was a good end to the morning. I highly recommend season tickets to the Houston Symphony's Weatherford Family Concerts. It's ~ $100 for the annual subscription for one child and one parent with a symphony each quarter. One performance is at 10 am and a second on is at 11:30 am. Here's the line up for the rest of the year:

- Saturday, Dec. 4: Raymond Briggs' classic The Snowman (with a visit from Santa)
- Saturday, Feb. 19: Music from The Lion King
- Saturday, April 2: Symphony in Space with tunes from Star Wars and ET

Hope you'll check these out with your families. Until the next nap time...

Fishing Tales

All this fishing this evening reminds me of a funny fish tale. When I was young, Dad took me fishing regularly at Grandfather's ranch.



Once, I was apparently quite talkative. The trees lazily hung above us in a canopy. Dad just wanted a few fish.

"Megan, If you keep talking, you'll scare the fish away. You have to be quiet," Dad said.

My little brain suddenly flooded with hundreds of questions for dear Dad. Finally, one burst from my lips: "Where are fish's ears, Daddy?"

It was suddenly time to go & I had no idea why. Patience is priceless but so are good fish tales with Dad.

- Until the next nap time...

Location:Navasota, TX.

Scarecrow Festival in Chapel Hill, TX

Today, we decided to take our first trip to the Scarecrow Festival in Chapel Hill, Texas. It was really fun.



They had tons of booths with items for sale like a traditional street festival. They had an area for the kids that included a small ferris wheel ($5), a train ($3), a petting zoo ($3) with the cutest pot belly pig baby & much more. Of course, the costs add up quickly.

Food ranged from everything on a stick, fried Twinkies & potato chips, gyros, sausage, snow cones, fruity tea, lemonade, beer & much more. Dieters: be ware!


Little K's favorite part was getting her face painted & getting a unicorn doll now named Abby.

The adults had fun, too, walking around & enjoying the nice weather. Trent said: "I went all the way to the Scarecrow Festival & all I got was poor!' it was really fun though. I'd like to go to the Scarecrow Festival in Brenham tomorrow to do a comparison. Maybe they'll have more scarecrows. I'm not sure I can convince my family to get up tomorrow to go though. We'll see.

- Until the next nap time...

Addressing Obesity in Our Children

I think this is a great idea so I have to share. According to the American Heart Association, "currently, 25% of the nation’s children are showing early warning signs of heart diseases, but this can be undone."

Our own family set out just last week to eat healthier and be more active. I know, it's only been a week but we all have to start somewhere. Check out the following facts about childhood obesity and health in general and then learn how your family can do more to care for each others' health.

Thanks to Meghan Allen at the American Heart Association for these facts.

"Our nation is facing an increasingly dire obesity epidemic and this includes the Houston community. The number of meals being eaten outside of the home has reached an all time high. Since foods eaten away from the home are typically served in large portion sizes and are higher in energy density compared to meals eaten at home (My insert: not to mention they're usually drenched in salt), it is extremely important that Houstonians are well informed about what they are eating.

The American Heart Association is pleased to announce the launch of the Houston DINEs campaign. Houston DINEs is a local education and awareness campaign to provide dining information and nutrition education to all Houstonians.

The American Heart Association wants to empower consumers by encouraging them to ask questions about the calories they consume. This will increase the ability of consumers to make informed choices in the food and beverages they purchase in restaurants."

Learn more about what the American Heart Association is doing and how it can help you & your family. Visit http://houstondines.blogspot.com/ to learn more.

On a Friday evening, my thoughts of restaurant eating have been curtailed and healthier choices are trickling in. How about you? How do you encourage your kids to eat healthy?

Until the next nap time...